Monday, February 17, 2014

What Are You After Work?

When you go to a networking session, a luncheon, a dinner, the most common question strangers will ask you is:

"So, what do you do?" (in corporate rat language, it means "So, which rat cage are you trapped in?")

Your typical answer would be a well-thought-out description of your job, trying to make your fancy job title sound humble - "Well, I'm the regional manager of ABC. It sounds like an important role, but really, it sounds bigger than what it is" (corporate rat language: "Well, I'm the regional treadmill runner at ABC. I spend two-thirds of my day running on that damn corporate treadmill.")

We are consumed by our jobs.

Go out and ask a white collar worker this: "So, what do you do other than your day job?"

The answer you get will not be as interesting.

Many people who lose their jobs or get retrenched tend to fall into a state of temporary depression, if not permanent. All of a sudden, they lost their "identity", their importance and their form of existence.

If you take away that job title, throw away those fancy name cards; what are you? Can you still describe yourself?

If you lose your job today, can you still go on living...a meaningful life?